Pecos League


RUIDOSO - For the first time in six years, Pecos League baseball returned to the small village of Ruidoso.

On Sunday afternoon, the White Sands Pupfish and Roswell Invaders met halfway to play a spring training game at the White Mountain Recreational Complex in front of a small gathering of fans.

Of course, in 2011, Ruidoso housed the Osos.

The team dealt with a lot of adversity in their first season. First, their home field doesn't have lights, which made it hard to get games in due to darkness. Another issue was the team couldn't sell alcohol due to its proximity to the Ruidoso Municipal Schools.

Despite all the hardships, the Osos managed to string together a 38-29 record to land a spot in the playoffs. The Osos took down White Sands to advance to the Pecos League championship where they fell to Roswell in a three-game series.

The team ended up folding and moving to Raton in 2013. Attendance problems and virtually no support ended the Osos' run in 2014.

Is there a possible future for the Pecos League in Ruidoso?

"The future of Ruidoso is unknown," Pecos League commissioner Andrew Dunn said. "We have 11 teams this year, and we have a travel team in the American Association. Next year we're gonna have 12 teams, and Ruidoso's one of the places we always consider, but with what happened there the first year without us owning the team it's hard to recover from that.

"Yesterday (Sunday) was a step and an agreement between us and them to kind of evaluate things. We're gonna play one more game there in July and then who knows. We're definitely committed to Roswell and Alamogordo, and Ruidoso makes sense geographically."

The Pecos League is expanding westward with its five California-based clubs, plus the Tucson (Ariz.) Saguaros. The league also owns the Salina (Kan.) Stockade, who are a travel team in the higher-level American Association.

Geographically, Ruidoso makes sense being the midway point for Alamogordo and Roswell. Ruidoso lies roughly 75 miles west of Roswell, while it's 50 1/2 miles away from Alamogordo.

Dunn states hiring Clyde Woods Jr., as the Osos' general manager was the worst mistake in league history. Woods had a prior criminal history as he was charged with second-degree murder after he shot and killed a 58-year-old man at Elephant Butte Lake in August 2005.

"If I would've owned the team it would've been the best team," Dunn said. "When I founded the league, I didn't own the team. Alamogordo recommended Clyde Woods as an owner - worst mistake in the history of our league. That's tough to recover from.

"The good thing about it was when you have Pupfish playing Ruidoso, fans would go, and it really helped Alamogordo's attendance and it helped Invader attendance because they don't have lights. Their fans, which were probably the best fans in the league at the time, would go on the road. That's how we were getting 700 people a night."

White Sands and Roswell are scheduled to play in Ruidoso again on July 16.

"I think it could happen again," Dunn said. "It's just a really tough bridge to burn when people steal from sponsors and the history of Clyde and what he did. It's tough to overcome. I know that people in Ruidoso would love to have the Osos back, but I don't know."

Pupfish begin season Wednesday

The Pupfish begin their season Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. in Santa Fe. After their five-game road trip they return to Alamogordo on Monday to play Roswell at 6:30 p.m.

There's a lot of work the team must do. For one, relief pitching has been visibly one of their weakest points right now. The Invaders won the final exhibition game, 16-5.

"I think we got some guys that can really swing it. We got some really good defensive players," Pupfish field manager Chris Stout said. "I think our starters are really gonna help us go deep in the ballgames. It's just a matter of finding the right fit for the bullpen. Once that comes around, I think we've got a good shot of competing for a division title as well as making it into the playoffs and challenging for a championship."

Dynas Doud hit a solo homer in the bottom of the fifth that ended the four consecutive shutout innings for the Pupfish. They later got a three-run homer in the bottom of the eighth.

"I think they enjoyed it, a little bit of different scenery than what you see in Alamogordo," Stout said about playing in Ruidoso. "Ruidoso's got a very nice ballpark. It's good to kind of get away from where you're from and then go back. It gives you more appreciation for where you come from. Ruidoso treated us well other than the score."